Trading Standards Institute fires warning as council mulls 80% cut to service

The Trading Standards Institute has warned about the potential impact of cuts after it emerged that a local authority is considering an 80% reduction in funding to its service over the next three years.

Under plans that will go before its overview and scrutiny performance board on 24 October, Worcestershire County Council will cut its budget from £1.7m to £250,000 by 2016/17 and reduce the number of trading standards officers from 28 to six or seven.

Worcestershire’s Trading Standards is part of the Worcestershire Regulatory shared service that also delivers environmental health and licensing functions for the county’s six district councils.

The county council is proposing to reduce the cost of the trading standards function within the shared service. It is also suggesting a review of the governance and shared service model, possibly working with other 'upper tier' authorities to deliver economies of scale and resilience.

Should savings through this arrangement not be possible, Worcestershire is preparing a 'plan B' option of the county providing a core trading standards service.

The cuts come against the backdrop of the council overall seeking to save some £90m from its £334m budget.

The TSI warned that this level of cuts could see:

• Information and advice become tougher to obtain – “upstanding businesses may fall foul of the law”.
• An increase not only in the risks of instances of food fraud similar to the horsemeat scandal due to fewer inspections, but also a compromising of the ability to respond to such incidents.
• An increase in rogue traders.
• Less protection for young people from alcohol and tobacco.

Trading Standards Institute's chief executive, Leon Livermore, said: "We understand cuts need to happen, but heavy cuts to trading standards will results in an inability to deliver the service the public expect and deserve, as fewer officers will have to take on greater responsibilities.

"To understand the value of trading standards to this country, you do not have to look hard. This year alone trading standards have taken Tesco to court and won over the mis-selling of strawberries in Birmingham, confiscated almost £3m worth of counterfeit goods in Warwickshire and last year seized 4.1m potentially lethal fake electrical goods.”

Livermore added: "These huge cuts to trading standards will slow or even prevent future successes, allowing unscrupulous traders and fraudsters to harm consumers and legitimate businesses." 

Cllr Adrian Hardman, Worcestershire's Leader and Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Finance, said: "Like many other public authorities, Worcestershire County Council has less money to provide services and do the things that local people have said are important to them. This means we have to find new ways to provide services and will be reforming over the coming years, not be standing still.
 
"We have now developed proposals which make up a plan of how to rise to the challenge of saving £30m in 2014/15 and then about £25m per year until at least 2016/17. These proposals will be considered by our Overview and Scrutiny panel on October 24 and then be put to the council's Cabinet for approval on November 7." 
 
Cllr Hardman added: "It is important to say that these are early proposals at this stage and any decisions at Cabinet on November 7 would be followed by service specific consultation as appropriate before any possible implementation.
 
"There are challenging times ahead but we are determined that Worcestershire will become a stronger local authority which can continue to deliver valued and important services. Many people will continue to receive services, but we will be changing the way we work, and deliver them. It will be hard for us, but we must be a success for Worcestershire."